This invention has application to a ladies' razor system. The purpose of the invention is to avoid unnecessary nicks, cuts, and scrapes due to accidental usage of incompatible shaving systems.
It is recognized that women, in comparison to men, have different shaving problems. For example, the wet shave systems normally designed for men are not adequate, or well-developed, for the underarms and legs.
The great majority of shaving systems currently on the market are directed to the needs of the male population. Of these male-oriented systems, most are of the twin blade single edge cartridge variety. U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,774, incorporated herein by reference, describes such a system comprising a cartridge having tandem assembled blades, each blade having a shaving geometry substantially the same as a single blade system. The cartridge is detachably affixed to a handle by slidable flange coupling members well known in the mechanical engineering field for ease of cartridge replacement.
Pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 732,567, filed Oct. 15, 1976, incorporated herein by reference, describes a shaving cartridge principally directed toward the needs of women. The cartridge permits smoother, safer and more efficient shaving due to a specially adapted shape and geometry. The peculiar design of this cartridge does, however, engender a manner of usage different than its male-oriented counterpart. This difference in use has a tendency to cause increased shaving discomfort and less safety if the user were to switch back to a male-type cartridge.
An important marketing requirement of a shaving cartridge is to be useful with handles that are available. Hence, in designing the ladies' cartridge, it was essential that it should couple with existing handles, yet in observance of the problem associated with switching between female and male-oriented systems, its handle should not couple with male-oriented cartridges.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an arrangement comprised of a ladies' razor handle and cartridge loading mechanism which will overcome the aforesaid dangerous condition while assuring optimum enjoyment of the benefits intended by the system's unique design criteria. It is further an object of the invention to provide a blade cartridge which may be used with handles associated with other shaving systems less demanding than the ladies' system herein described but a handle that will only couple with the ladies' cartridge.